[Deleted]

The day was set to be another unbearably hot one. Blazefang was already quite ready to be done with this greenleaf’s weather so far, and the season had barely begun. He wouldn’t have expected this much heat until later in the season, at least. But he had told Sleetpaw he would help her with her battle training today. Sleetpaw took so much after her mother, it was especially difficult for Blazefang not to feel particularly protective of her, compared to her bolder siblings. Thunderpaw and Lightningpaw were certainly his brother’s kits, while Windpaw fell somewhere in between, but sometimes it was hard to believe Sleetpaw was really his kit at all. He couldn’t help but wonder how Gustclaw might have helped her, if he were still alive. Neither he nor his brother were well known for having much patience, but surely Gustclaw would have mustered some for his daughter. Or maybe it would have been like it was for him, and Sleetpaw, like Cloudyfeather, would just somehow inspire patience and understanding where there previously was none.

He had shared a quick bite with Sleetpaw before leading her out of camp early that morning, before the heat could become too oppressive. He might have tried to take Thunderpaw out with his sister as well, but he felt that Sleetpaw could use some more private, one on one training, without Thunderpaw trying anything that she wasn’t ready for just because he was bored and trying to make things more interesting, and he didn’t want Sleetpaw comparing herself to her brother and getting disheartened either. Fighting wasn’t her strong suit and probably never would be - she was too gentle - all Blazefang wanted to do was ensure she would be able to defend herself whenever the need arose. It would be naive to think some other cat would always be around to protect her, and he had long outgrown any sense of such naivety.

Upon reaching the trampled clearing, he turned to face his niece. At least the less strenuous practice he and Sleetpaw were bound to have shouldn’t do much to mess with his leg. His head tilted slightly as he posed his question, “Is there anything you’re having the most trouble with? We can start there, nice’n slow.”

Taxx
Greenleaf 6 - Another dry day with the sun beating down due to lack of clouds, though today doesn't hold the same breeze as the air remains stagnant.

[Taxx]

If you love me, don't let go

Sleetpaw couldn't help the tremble of her paws as she followed Blazefang, no matter how hard she tried. She'd been dreading this for moons- before she'd even become an apprentice. There had been training sessions before now, and they'd all gone about as poorly as they could have. Half the time she'd been unable to land a blow, and the other half they just weren't strong enough, frantic flailing with soft paws, eyes squeezed shut, and those usually ended with her pinned under some apprentice, heart pounding and shame at her failures nearly choking her.

She knew Blazefang just wanted to help, and she wanted to do her best- to make him proud, but she didn't know how. She couldn't stand the thought of hurting anyone, even in pretend battles. She knew she'd never be able to fight in a real battle. She could hardly hunt the creatures that were food for the Clan, for StarClan's sake.

Blazefang came to a stop and turned to face her. Sleetpaw halted, blinking up at him for a moment before dropping her gaze. What did she have trouble with the most? Everything she replied silently, and her tail flicked nervously behind her. Her mind flipped quickly through possible replies, trying to pick one quickly before Blazefang lost his patience. She had learned the various battle moves, had more or less perfected the moves through gentle practice from Larkflower, but it was much harder actually putting them to use in mock-fights.

"I... I have trouble with the fighting," she managed, eyes wider as she looked back up at her uncle. "I don't want to hurt them." Her voice dropped to a whisper, ears folding back at her admission and wondering if Blazefang would understand. She hoped so.

Because I'm a little unsteady

Sleetpaw

LightningClan Apprentice

@zen ● Made by Fawn

[Deleted]

For a moment Blazefang could only blink at his niece as she answered. The… fighting? Wasn’t that basically everything? But when she added on that she didn’t want to hurt anyone, he thought he understood a little better. It was likely that in practicing battle moves on her own she was able to perform adequately, but in putting them to the test against an opponent, she faltered. His tail flicked dismissively, “Then don’t think of it as hurting someone else.”

His features angled into obvious thoughtfulness as he tried to work out just what he wanted to say. Eloquence was not Blazefang’s forte. "You care about your friends and family, don’t you? I’d fight all of StarClan for you.” He looked down at her, a flash of fondness in his gaze before he cleared his throat and it was gone, “Don’t you have cats you feel like that about? That you’d do anything to protect them? So, I guess… don’t think of it as hurting, think of it as protecting. If you don’t fight, someone you care about could get hurt, or worse.”

He leaned over to rasp his tongue over her ear quickly, trying to be encouraging after he realized he said something that might only succeed in making her more scared or nervous. He was just trying to help her find her own motivation for fighting. She was looking at it wrong, for her. He didn’t really care himself. Hurting others in a fight had never bothered him, but now that he was older he wasn’t as interested in rushing headfirst into them either, even if he'd still had four good legs. A cat had to have something to fight for.

“I’m sure Redstar and Owlmind would never pick a cat to be in a battle patrol who really didn’t want to be there, but sometimes other cats attack us first, or things that aren’t cats. Foxes or badgers. If someone or something came into our camp and attacked us, we have to protect the cats we care about, and the cats who can’t fight. The kits, the medicine cats, and… and the elders.” His ears twitched, as he was speaking partly for himself. He would fight if there was a threat in camp, but he knew it wouldn’t go very well. His leg wouldn’t hold up in a serious fight. Still, he’d sooner go down fighting than let someone else risk their lives for a useless, crippled warrior. He shook his head to shake the thought away for now and refocused on Sleetpaw, “So, do you think you could fight to protect someone?”

Taxx

[Taxx]

If you love me, don't let go

Sleetpaw glanced back up at Blazefang as he replied, listening to his advice and wondering... could she? "I do!" she replied. But she wasn't sure if she could. If she'd ever need to. Her siblings, Mudpelt and Blazefang- they could all fight to defend themselves just fine. When would they ever need her to do it for them? Even if she managed to scrape together the courage to do so. The few kills she'd managed made her feel awful enough, the feeling of her claws sinking into fur and flesh and knowing she was hurting a living creature, seeing the fear and pain in their eyes and knowing she was the cause of it made her sick to her stomach- how could she do that to another cat?

How was it so easy for the others?

And if she didn't, someone could get hurt. That was what a Clan did, look out for each other. If she couldn't manage to fight a cat from another Clan- even in her head she couldn't think of them as an enemy- would she be responsible if one of her family members got hurt? She couldn't help a flinch at the mention of a fox or a badger attack, knowing there was truth in what her uncle was saying and trying to crush the little voice that wanted to suggest some other way of dealing with threats. It wasn't how it worked; they couldn't be reasoned with and she knew it. It felt like she was being forced to agree, that she'd be forced, in some way, to fight. Because that was how it worked.

"I'll try," she answered, lifting her gaze to her uncle again. "I don't know... how good I'll be, but I'll try."

Because I'm a little unsteady

Sleetpaw

LightningClan Apprentice

@zen ● Made by Fawn

[Deleted]

Blazefang really didn’t understand the reluctance Sleetpaw seemed to have, even when faced with the potential threat to those she cared about. But, he also didn’t think she would sit back and do nothing if it came down to it. She just had never been faced with the need to defend others before. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Don’t worry too much, Sleetpaw. I think you’ll be braver than you think you are, if you’re ever really faced with something trying to hurt some cat you care about. There’s courage in you somewhere, underneath all that fluff.” He reached out to playfully brush his paw over her long fur, “Otherwise you wouldn’t keep trying, even though it’s hard for you.”

He took a few steps back then, returning to business, “Okay. So I guess the plan is… imagine you’re the only one close enough to protect the nursery from a fox heading right for it. There are kits inside, they can’t fight. I’ll be the fox. Just try to keep me from getting past you as best you can. Remember you’re in camp, another cat will probably come over to help you soon. You just have to hold me off until then. Aim for the face, the eyes and ears especially. We’ll take it slow. Ready?” He waited for her okay before he moved in again.

Taxx I figure you can do a fast forward bit of training in your post to get to where she gets too affected by the heat to continue and have him call the session to an end and head home cuz she looks terrible xD and that'd be a good place to end?

[Taxx]

If you love me, don't let go

She didn't want to. She really didn't want to. But she couldn't tell Blazefang that, so she just nodded and stared at her paws for a moment, wondering if it was the heat of the sun or her own shame burning her. Or both. Probably both. At least he was trying to be understanding, and she blinked up at him gratefully at the brush of his paw. He laid out the plan and she nodded, round-eyed, as he approached with the intent to get past.

And the rest of it went about as well as she'd anticipated. Flailing her paws at him- claws sheathed- had done little to stop him, and it seemed that no matter what she tried, she was always too slow- or too hesitant. Humiliation seemed to crawl like ants through her pelt; if this were real she'd have lost so many times. Who was she kidding? She'd never be a warrior.

Her movements grew sloppier as time went on, the heat only getting worse until she could barely take a step; her sight was swimming and she was panting harder than she ever had, her mouth dry as sand. Blazefang paused, staring at her, asking if she was okay; trembling, she tried to nod, to assure him because she didn't want him to worry on top of everything else, but he didn't look convinced. A gentle nudge turned her toward the edge of the clearing, and with his tail across her shoulders he headed back toward the camp, Sleetpaw stumbling along at his side.

Because I'm a little unsteady

Sleetpaw

LightningClan Apprentice

@zen ● Made by Fawn